Use of vegetation classification and plant indicators to assess grazing abandonment in Estonian coastal wetlands

Question: What are the effects of grazing abandonment on the vegetation composition of Estonian coastal wetlands? Location: Vormsi Island and Silma Nature Reserve in western Estonia, Europe. Methods: Local knowledge and field reconnaissance were used to identify current and historical management levels of wetland sites within the west Estonian study area. Nine study sites, with varying management histories, were selected comprising an area of 287 ha. A total of 198 quadrats were taken from 43 distinct vegetation patches in five of the sites. TWINSPAN analysis was used to identify community type, and a phytosociological key was constructed for character taxa. This vegetation classification was then applied within a GIS‐based context to classify all the study sites, using a ground survey technique and 1:2000 scale air photos. Results: We identified 11 different brackish coastal wetland community types. Indicator species were defined with community characteristics for the seven main vegetation types readily recognisable in the field. Coastal wet grasslands were most extensive in grazed sites, or sites that had been more intensively grazed, while abandoned sites were largely composed of Phragmites australis stands, tall grassland, and scrub. Site variations based on vegetation composition were significantly correlated with past grazing intensity. Plant community types showed significant edaphic differences, with particularly low soil moisture and high conductivity and pH for open pioneer patches compared to other vegetation types. Conclusion: Abandonment of traditionally grazed coastal grasslands threatens their characteristic biodiversity. This study found that grazing abandonment reduced the extent of coastal wetland grasslands of particular conservation value. Nevertheless, plant species of conservation interest were found across the sequence of community types described. The study shows that grazing is an important factor influencing coastal wetland plant communities but suggests that vegetation distribution is affected by environmental variables, such as topography.     

沙地草场放牧试验植物群落的TWINSPAN数量分析

 在长期严格沙地草场放牧试验的基础上,通过样方调查和TWINSPAN数量分析,揭示了植物群落的物种组成及种群在放牧压力下的变化趋势,主要结论是：1）不同的放牧压力使试验地的群落发生分化,形成差异明显的类群,而相同的放牧强度又使群落趋同,使群落的组成和物种的生态适应特性趋于一致。2）随着放牧强度的增加,群落中多年生成分减少,一年生杂类草增多,排列出了不同植物种组与放牧强度的对应关系。     

藏北高原草地群落的数量分类与排序

采用TWINSPAN数量分类和DCA、CCA排序的方法,对藏北高原草地29个样点进行统计分析。结果显示:(1)TWINSPAN数量分类将藏北高寒草地群落划分成10种类型。(2)样点DCA排序第一轴基本反映了水分环境梯度,第二轴基本反映了热量梯度。(3)TWINSPAN分类所划分的各群落在DCA排序图上都有各自的分布范围和界限,说明DCA排序能较好的反应各优势群落与其环境资源之间的关系。(4)样点CCA排序表明,影响群落分布的首要环境因子是水分因子(年均降水量)和空间因子(经度),其次是热量因子(年均温度),CCA排序进一步阐明了群落分布决定于水分和温度等环境因子,并间接验证了TWINSPAN的分类结果。(5)物种CCA排序和TWINSPAN分类结果表明:植物群落中物种的分布格局与植物群落类型的分布格局存在一定的相似性。     

不同复垦方式煤矿排土场植物群落与土壤因子的关系

选取6个样地,采用协同样方法采样,对内蒙古黑岱沟露天煤矿排土场与原始植被地的植物及土壤因子进行对比研究。结果表明:(1)通过TWINSPAN划分法得到8个植物群落,经DCA法分析核实,与TWINSPAN划分结果一致。(2)油松+蒙古冰草复垦模式比新疆杨+紫花苜蓿复垦模式生态适应性差,紫花苜蓿丧失优势种的地位而被拂子茅取代。(3)剔除频度小于5%,获得228×74的样方-物种原始数据矩阵,对11个环境因子测定,采取"前向选择"和"Monte Carlo检验"确定了7个代理变量,形成228×7的样方-环境因子数据矩阵,经DCCA分析群落分布、格局及组成主要受土壤有机质(第1轴)、土壤密度(第2轴)两因子影响;第1轴特征值0.895,贡献率58.7%,沿着第1轴群落依次从类型Ⅷ、Ⅶ、Ⅴ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ、Ⅱ、Ⅰ土壤有机质逐渐变大;第2轴特征值0.356,贡献率17.4%,沿着第2轴,群落Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅴ、Ⅶ土壤密度依次变小。(4)排土场群落物种组成较原始群落简单,现有群落既未向复垦设计的方向发展,也未向原始植被方向演化。     

The significance of habitat continuity and current management on the compositional and functional diversity of grasslands in the uplands of Lower Saxony,Germany

There is a growing concern that land use intensification is having negative effects on semi-natural grasslands and that it leads to a general loss of biodiversity among all types of formerly extensively managed grasslands of poor to medium nutrient richness. Since the 1950s, many Central European uplands have been subject to an increase in grassland cover as a result of changes in land use practices. Using such a landscape in Lower Saxony, Germany, as a model region, we assessed environmental factors that control grassland diversity, including plant community composition, species richness and pollination trait composition. In 2007, 189 vegetation sampling sites were randomly distributed among grasslands covering some 394 ha within a 2500 ha study area. Plant communities were classified using TWINSPAN and the effects of environmental factors (soil, topography, current management and habitat continuity) were analysed by canonical correspondence analysis and regression analysis reducing for the effects of spatial autocorrelation by using principal coordinates of neighbour matrices.We found a wide range of six species-poor (<15 plant spp.) to extremely species-rich (>27 spp.) grassland types under mesic to dry site conditions, including sown, Cynosurion, Arrhenatherion and semi-natural grasslands. Grassland community composition was best explained by soil factors and species richness and pollination type composition by combined effects of current management and habitat continuity. During the 1950/60s, the extent of grassland area within the studied landscape rapidly increased to more than double its previous extent, and in 2007, grasslands comprised 16%. Natura 2000 grassland types comprised 1% of the surveyed site and medium-rich, high-nature-value grasslands a further 5%. While the number of wind-pollinated plant species was equal among all grassland types, there was a parallel decline in insect-pollinated plants and overall median species richness in the grassland communities along a gradient of increasing land use intensity (mowing, nutrient supply). Moreover, insect-pollinated plants occurring in intensively managed grasslands were found to additionally have the ability for self-pollination. Species-rich grasslands – including semi-natural grasslands and a semi-improved, species-rich Arrhenatherion community – occurred exclusively on old sites (with >100 years of habitat continuity) that had been used for traditional sheep grazing (environmental contracting). Medium-rich Arrhenatherion grasslands were established primarily on less productive, formerly arable fields (<30 years). We conclude that conservation efforts should focus on extant species-rich grassland types and should aim to implement traditional land use practices such as sheep grazing. Additional restoration efforts should focus on establishing new grasslands on less productive sites in the proximate surroundings of species-rich grasslands to facilitate seed dispersal, but nitrogen deposition should be buffered where appropriate. These measures would enhance the interaction between nature reserves and agricultural grasslands and thus improve the ecological quality of grasslands at the landscape scale.     

Grazing as a factor structuring grasslands in the Pyrenees

Questions: What are the relative roles of abiotic and grazing management factors on plant community distribution in landscapes? How are livestock type and stocking rate related to changes in vegetation structure and composition? Location: Sub‐alpine grasslands in the central and eastern Pyrenees. Methods: Multivariate analysis and variance partitioning methods were used to evaluate the relative roles of environmental factors in structuring vegetation composition and diversity patterns in three surveys on differently managed grasslands. Results: Vegetation composition within a region was affected by environmental factors hierarchically, changing first according to abiotic factors and then to grazing management. At landscape scales, abiotic factors explained two‐fold more variation in vegetation composition than grazing factors. Within landscape units, cattle grazing increased vegetation heterogeneity at landscape and patch scales, while sheep grazing favoured the presence of a specific set of species with high conservation value. Species composition was highly responsive to management variables compared to diversity components. Conclusions: The combination of sheep and cattle grazing at various stocking rates is an effective tool to preserve the diversity of plant species and communities within a region with a long tradition of livestock management, through the scaling up of effects by local processes occurring in patches at smaller scales.     

Soil fungal composition changes with shrub encroachment in the northern Chihuahuan Desert

Woody species encroachment of grasslands globally causes many socioecological impacts, including loss of grazing pastures and decreased biodiversity. Soil microbial communities may partially regulate the pace of shrub encroachment, as plant-microbial interactions can strongly influence plant success. We measured fungal composition and activity under dominant plant species across a grassland to shrubland transition to determine if shrubs cultivate soil microbial communities as they invade. Specifically, soil microbial communities, abiotic soil properties, and extracellular enzyme activities were quantified for soils under four common Chihuahuan Desert plant species (three grasses, one shrub) in central New Mexico, U.S.A. Extracellular enzyme activity levels were fairly consistent under different plant species across the grassland to shrubland transition. Activity levels of two enzymes (alkaline phosphatase and beta-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase) were lower in the ecotone, presumably because soil organic matter content was also lower in ecotone soils. Community composition of soil fungi mirrored patterns in the plant community, with distinct plant and fungal communities in the shrubland and grassland, while grassland-shrubland ecotone soils hosted a mix of taxa from both habitats. We show that shrubs cultivate a distinct microbial community on the leading edge of the invasion, which may be necessary for shrub colonization, establishment, and persistence.     

拉萨河流域植物群落的数量分类与排序

青藏高原植物群落空间分异格局是异质生境条件下物种性状、种间相互作用等生态学过程共同作用的结果,对其分析有助于深入理解群落形成与环境因子之间的关系。基于拉萨河流域自然植被样带调查,采用双向指示种分析(TWINSPAN)和典范对应分析(CCA)等方法,探讨了群落的结构组成及影响其结构分异的主导环境因子。结果表明:(1) TWINSPAN数量分类将拉萨河流域草地系统划分成12个群系类型,即圆叶合头菊+唐古拉翠雀花群系;紫花针茅群系;青藏臺草群系;雪层杜鹃+鲜卑花-西藏嵩草群系;高山嵩草群系;小叶金露梅群系;硬叶柳+杯腺柳群系;水栒子+拱枝绣线菊-高山嵩草群系;绢毛蔷薇-冷蒿+白草群系;大果圆柏-垂穗披碱草群系;铺地柏-藏橐吾+高原荨麻群系;醉鱼草+砂生槐群系。12种群系类型包含了较多的植被类型,包括高寒灌丛草甸、高寒灌丛草原、稀树草原、高寒草甸和高寒草原等。(2) CCA排序表明:影响拉萨河流域植物群系分布的主要环境因子是年均温度、海拔和经度和纬度,其次是年均降雨量。(3) TWINSPAN分类与CCA排序结合反映了群系分布格局变异与环境因子之间的关系,可为拉萨河流域草地的保护和可持续利用,以及相关的植被群落研究提供参考。     

Root pathogen diversity and composition varies with climate in undisturbed grasslands,but less so in anthropogenically disturbed grasslands

Soil-borne pathogens structure plant communities, shaping their diversity, and through these effects may mediate plant responses to climate change and disturbance. Little is known, however, about the environmental determinants of plant pathogen communities. Therefore, we explored the impact of climate gradients and anthropogenic disturbance on root-associated pathogens in grasslands. We examined the community structure of two pathogenic groups—fungal pathogens and oomycetes—in undisturbed and anthropogenically disturbed grasslands across a natural precipitation and temperature gradient in the Midwestern USA. In undisturbed grasslands, precipitation and temperature gradients were important predictors of pathogen community richness and composition. Oomycete richness increased with precipitation, while fungal pathogen richness depended on an interaction of precipitation and temperature, with precipitation increasing richness most with higher temperatures. Disturbance altered plant pathogen composition and precipitation and temperature had a reduced effect on pathogen richness and composition in disturbed grasslands. Because pathogens can mediate plant community diversity and structure, the sensitivity of pathogens to disturbance and climate suggests that degradation of the pathogen community may mediate loss, or limit restoration of, native plant diversity in disturbed grasslands, and may modify plant community response to climate change.Subject terms: Fungal ecology, Soil microbiology, Grassland ecology     

拉萨河谷草地群落的数量分类与排序

采用TWINSPAN数量分类和DCA、CCA排序的方法,对拉萨河谷草地23个样点进行统计分析。结果显示:(1)TWINSPAN数量分类将拉萨河谷草地群落划分成8种类型,拉萨河谷的草地群落分布呈现明显的垂直地带性分布格局。(2)TWINSPAN分类所划分的各群落在DCA排序图上都有各自的分布范围和界限,说明DCA排序能较好的反应各群落与其环境资源之间的关系,同时,TWINSPAN的分类结果也在排序图上得到较好的印证。(3)样点DCA排序的第一轴基本反映了海拔高度的变化梯度,第二轴基本反映了坡向的变化。(4)样点CCA排序表明,影响群落分布的主要环境因子是海拔,其次是坡向。CCA排序进一步阐明了拉萨河谷草地群落分布决定于海拔和坡向等环境因子,并间接验证了TWINSPAN的分类结果。(5)物种CCA排序和TWINSPAN分类结果表明:植物群落中物种的分布格局与植物群落类型的分布格局存在一定的相似性,物种的分布格局在很大程度上影响着群落的分布格局。     

Divergent changes in plant community composition under 3-decade grazing exclusion in continental steppe

An understanding of the factors controlling plant community composition will allow improved prediction of the responses of plant communities to natural and anthropogenic environmental change. Using monitoring data from 1980 to 2009, we quantified the changes in community composition in Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis dominated grasslands in Inner Mongolia under long-term grazing-exclusion and free-grazing conditions, respectively. We demonstrated that the practice of long-term grazing exclusion has significant effects on the heterogeneity, the dominant species, and the community composition in the two grasslands. The community composition of L. chinensis and S. grandis grasslands exhibited directional changes with time under long-term grazing exclusion. Under free grazing, the L. chinensis community changed directionally with time, but the pattern of change was stochastic in the S. grandis community. We attributed the divergent responses to long-term grazing exclusion in the S. grandis and L. chinensis grasslands to litter accumulation and changes in the microenvironment after grazing exclusion, which collectively altered the growth and regeneration of the dominant species. The changes in the grazed grasslands were primarily determined by the selective feeding of sheep during long-term heavy grazing. Overall, the responses of the community composition of the Inner Mongolian grasslands to long-term grazing exclusion and heavy grazing were divergent, and depended primarily on the grassland type. Our findings provide new insights into the role of grazing in the maintenance of community structure and function and therefore have important implications for grassland management.     

三峡库区消涨带植物群落的数量分析

运用双向指示种分析法(TWINSPAN)和除趋势对应分析法(DCA)对三峡库区消涨带植物群落进行了数量分类和排序分析。TWINSPAN将122个样方分成19类,可归为4个植被型,分类结果反映了植物群落与环境梯度间的关系,并在DCA分布图上得到较好的验证。DCA分布图的对角线基本反映了水淹时间长短和土壤湿度高低,表明水淹时间和土壤湿度是该区域植物群落组成和空间分布的主要限制性影响因子。对消涨带不同部位植物群落的物种组成和分布规律的分析为筛选耐水淹物种、进行三峡水库消涨带的植被恢复提供了物种参考。     

Role of topography and soils in grassland structuring at the landscape and community scales

The relative importance of abiotic factors in community assembly is debated and thought to be dependent on the scale. I investigated the relative role of topography and soils as structuring agents at the landscape and the community scales in 126 subalpine calcareous grasslands in the Pyrenees, in terms of species composition and abundance. I wished to know: (1) the role of abiotic factors in the organization of plant communities across the landscape; (2) how much of the variation in community distribution was accounted for by abiotic factors; and (3) how well their role applied to the distribution of dominant species at the landscape and the community scales. The hypothesis was: abiotic factors play an important role in community distribution in the landscape, but species interactions are more important within communities. Multivariate methods generated four communities, organized in two contrasting groups along the main vegetation axis, which explained 13% of the variation: mesic grasslands (Nardus stricta and Festuca nigrescens communities) and xeric grasslands (Carex humilis and Festuca gautieri communities). Mesic communities were more acidic and fertile than xeric communities. Changes in the abiotic environment, accounting for up to 80% of the variation in the vegetation, were smooth, while the transition between xeric and mesic grasslands was sharp in terms of species composition. The distribution in the landscape of the first main species from each community was closely related to abiotic factors, which modeled poorly the abundance of the main species at smaller scales. At the within-community scale, the explanatory power of biotic relationships was community dependent, producing the most significant models for plants highly dominant within their communities, such as N. stricta and F. gautieri. Contrary to current hypothesis, there was a shift from mainly positive relationships among dominant species in fertile mesic communities to mainly negative in infertile xeric ones.     

小五台亚高山草甸与生境关系分析

该文结合野外植被调查,在获取更为详细的景观尺度生境数据基础上,探讨了小五台亚高山草甸植物群落与直接环境因子之间的定量关系。典范对应分析(CCA)的结果表明:1) 在小五台的亚高山草甸分布地段,热量、养分和水分条件构成了其生境特征差异的基本格局;2) 用效应温度和太阳直接辐射量所表征的热量因子,指示出研究区植物群落最基本的分化,说明热量条件是制约研究区草甸群落分布的最重要的因子;3) 养分状况的差异,除了说明生境条件本身的差异外,也在一定程度上指示了放牧干扰对群落分布的影响;4) 由地形等因素控制的土壤表层水分状况,则反映了草甸植物群落分布所受到的水分条件影响。     

中国特有植物短丝木犀(Osmanthus serrulatus Rehd.)群落结构及其环境解释

为了解环境因子对短丝木犀植物群落的影响,研究了四川省宝兴县东拉山短丝木犀植物群落地区的环境因子、TWINSPAN分类、物种和多样性指数与环境因子的DCCA排序。结果表明:1)TWINSPAN将东拉山短丝木犀24个植物群落里划分为12个群落类型,分类结果在空间上反映了东拉山植物群落的演替变化趋势。2)短丝木犀植物群落生长在土壤含水量较高、郁闭度较高,并处于西南和南坡向的沟边。短丝木犀群落的主要伴生物种为鹅耳枥Carpinus turczaninowii、宝兴木姜子Litsea moupinensis、领春木Euptelea pleiosperma、云锦杜鹃Rhododendron fortunei、宝兴过路黄Lysimachia baoxingensis、糙苏Phlomis umbrosa和铁角蕨Asplenium trichomanes。3)DCCA排序结果验证了TWINSPAN分类结果的合理性,同时指出影响东拉山短丝木犀植物群落类型及空间分布的重要环境因子是土壤有机质和腐殖质含量。     

高寒草地植物群落关键种对不同放牧家畜组合放牧的响应

如何通过合理的利用方式提高高寒草地管理水平,实现其可持续利用一直是草地生态学领域的研究热点。为明确不同放牧家畜组合下高寒草地植物群落关键种的演替规律及其驱动因素,基于中等放牧强度设置了不同放牧家畜组合放牧样地（牦牛单牧、藏羊单牧、牦牛藏羊1 ： 2混牧、牦牛藏羊1 ： 4混牧、牦牛藏羊1 ： 6混牧）以及围封样地,并在连续放牧处理7年后系统分析了不同放牧家畜组合下植物群落特征与土壤理化性质变化,以期确定最优放牧组合。结果表明：（1）不同放牧家畜组合均会显著降低高寒草地植物盖度,但对其物种丰富度与多样性指数的影响并不显著。（2）牦牛藏羊1 ： 2混牧下植物群落特征与禁牧处理下植物群落特征较为相似,且牦牛藏羊1 ： 2混牧下的植物群落稳定性最强、组织水平最高。（3）牦牛单牧与1 ： 2混牧下关键种为矮生嵩草;藏羊单牧下关键种为天山针茅;1 ： 4混牧下关键种为星毛委陵菜;1 ： 6混牧与围封下关键种为赖草。（4）围封能够显著降低土壤容重,藏羊单牧则会显著增加土壤容重与土壤速效氮、磷含量。（5）土壤速效氮、容重与含水量是驱动不同放牧家畜组合下植物群落关键种演替的重要理化因子。综上所述,中等放牧强度下,牦牛藏羊1 ： 2混牧是青藏高原高寒草地较为理想的利用方式。此外,相较于单纯增加草地物种丰富度或多样性,建立植物群落物种之间的有效关联是提高青藏高原高寒草地管理水平的另一关键途径。     

Niche partitioning in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities in temperate grasslands: a lesson from adjacent serpentine and nonserpentine habitats

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent an important soil microbial group playing a fundamental role in many terrestrial ecosystems. We explored the effects of deterministic (soil characteristics, host plant life stage, neighbouring plant communities) and stochastic processes on AMF colonization, richness and community composition in roots of Knautia arvensis (Dipsacaceae) plants from three serpentine grasslands and adjacent nonserpentine sites. Methodically, the study was based on 454‐sequencing of the ITS region of rDNA. In total, we detected 81 molecular taxonomical operational units (MOTUs) belonging to the Glomeromycota. Serpentine character of the site negatively influenced AMF root colonization, similarly as higher Fe concentration. AMF MOTUs richness linearly increased along a pH gradient from 3.5 to 5.8. Contrary, K and Cr soil concentration had a negative influence on AMF MOTUs richness. We also detected a strong relation between neighbouring plant community composition and AMF MOTUs richness. Although spatial distance between the sampled sites (c. 0.3–3 km) contributed to structuring AMF communities in K. arvensis roots, environmental parameters were key factors in this respect. In particular, the composition of AMF communities was shaped by the complex of serpentine conditions, pH and available soil Ni concentration. The composition of AMF communities was also dependent on host plant life stage (vegetative vs. generative). Our study supports the dominance of deterministic factors in structuring AMF communities in heterogeneous environment composed of an edaphic mosaic of serpentine and nonserpentine soils.     

历山自然保护区猪尾沟森林群落植被格局及环境解释

应用TWINSPAN、DCA和DCCA,从植物种,植物群落与环境的生态关系方面,研究历山自然保护区猪尾沟森林群落的植被分布格局,并给予合理的环境解释。结果如下：（1）采用TWINSPAN数量分类方法,将植被划分为9个群落类型。（2）对于特定的研究区域猪尾沟,制约森林群落类型,植物种分布格局的主要因素是海拔梯度,即水、热两个环境因子。（3）DCCA排序图明显反映出排序轴的生态意义,第一轴基本上突出反映了各植物群落所在环境的海拔梯度,即热量因素,沿第一轴从左到右,海拔逐渐升高,植物群落或植物种对热量要求降低;第二轴主要表现了各植物群落或植物种所在环境的坡度,坡向,即水分和光照因素,沿第二轴从下到上,坡度渐缓,坡向渐向阳。     

Environmental factors and community dynamics at the southernmost part of the North American Graminetum – I. On the contribution of climatic factors to temporal variation in species composition

Compositional patterns of vegetation and their relationship to temporal and spatial environmental variation, with emphasis on climatic factors, were investigated in plant communities located in the southernmost portion of the North American Graminetum, in central México. Data from 353 samples, obtained in four ecologically contrasting plant communities during 11 years, were analyzed by partial canonical correspondence analysis. Eight climatic variables and eighteen covariables (seventeen edaphic and one resource management) were included in the ordination. A relationship between floristic change and weather variation, once covariables effects were fitted, was examined. Despite a strong contrast in ecological conditions among study sites, a set of four climatic variables was finally found in which each variable contributed independently and statistically (P < 0.01) to the total variance in the vegetation data. Thus, environmental variables other than climatic could not conceal the important role of weather as a mediator of floristic change through time. Summer precipitation and summer maximum temperature showed the highest correlations with the first two species axes, 0.77 and –0.39, respectively. Contribution of these two climatic variables to variance in the vegetation data explained by environmental variables was approximately 81%. Annual species were abundant during rainy years, while abundance of perennial grasses and shrubs showed no clear relationship to weather variation. This study explicitly probes the important role of rain patterns in shaping structure and composition of semiarid communities and considers how other environmental factors can affect plant communities at the southernmost part of the North American Graminetum.     

Delving into the dark ecology: A continent-wide assessment of patterns of composition in soil fungal communities from Australian tussock grasslands

Soil fungi play essential roles in many terrestrial processes, but our knowledge of the forces governing fungal distribution and community composition along broad-scale environmental gradients is still limited. In this study, we explored biogeographic distribution and composition of soil fungal communities associated with 62 tussock grasslands across different regions of Australia. Climatic parameters had only a limited correlation with fungal community structure, while edaphic variables and spatial distance were significantly associated with changes in fungal community composition. We also observed high variations in composition among fungal assemblages from different ecological regions, suggesting some regional endemism in these communities. The discrete distribution of fungi in soil was further confirmed by indicator analysis, which identified distinct indicator operational taxonomic units associated with grasslands from different climatic regions. Finally, fungi with flexible trophic interactions had a central role in the network architecture of both arid and temperate communities. Taken together, the results from our study confirm the prominent role of soil physico-chemical status and geographic location in determining fungal biogeographic patterns over large scales in Australia.